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The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education today concurred with and adopted the additional amendments made by its sister committee in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill.
 
The changes were made by the Select Committee on Education and Technology Sports, Arts and Culture. The portfolio committee received a briefing today on those amendments from Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Services Office.
 
Committee Chairperson Ms Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba said the committee was informed that yesterday the NCOP House adopted the D version of the Bill and referred it to the National Assembly (NA) for further processing after making slight amendments to the Bill that had been referred to the NCOP by the NA.
 
The Bill seeks, among other things, to make Grade R the new compulsory school starting age, to provide penalties for parents and guardians who do not ensure that their children are in school, and to confirm that corporal punishment is no longer allowed in schools, with penalties for those found guilty of such offences.
 
The committee heard that the NCOP had, among other things, agreed to amplify the corporal punishment definition and used the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) definition because it is constantly used now in the Act and Bill. The NCOP also further expanded the powers of the courts in dealing with sentencing and penalties by adding that the courts’ discretion is best placed to decide such matters in accordance with the CPA, with regards to parents or guardians who disregard the provision about taking children to school.
 
In terms of clause 4 and 5, the involvement of the head of department (HOD) in approving policies has been removed as have the time frames that may have caused difficulties for the DBE in complying with proper implementation. In the adopted amendments, the HOD retains the final authority on admissions and in providing guidance on the number of mediums of instruction that public schools may use. The committee was assured that all versions of the Bill presented – namely, the one introduced by Minister, the one changed and adopted by the NA on its second reading on the BELA Bill B version, and the one effected by the NCOP on the BELA Bill D version – comply with the Constitution and the jurisprudence of the courts. Several other amendments were made to provide further clarity.
 
“The latest amendments were made due to persuasion by stakeholders’ input received by the select committee. That is, after all, the whole purpose of public participation,” said Ms Mbinqo-Gigaba.
 
The Bill is expected to be debated tomorrow in the NA.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the chairperson of the portfolio committee on Basic Education, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba